Drier



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J. H. WODARD DRIER 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 20, 1925 @www March 231926.

J. H. wooDARD DRIER Filed April 20, 1925 2 SheetsfSheet 2 Patented Mar.23, 192.6.

UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE;

.JOHN H. wOonARn, or sPoKANE, WASHINGTON, AssIGNon- To SANITARY HANDDRYER COMPANY, OF SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, A CORPORATION.

Damit.

Application :filed April 20, 1925. Serial No. 24,30i8. i

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN H. IVooDARD, a citizen of the United States,residing at -Spokane, in Spokane County and State of Washington, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in `Driers,=of which thefollowing is a specification.

My present invention relates to improve l -ments in driers especiallyadapted for usein iranged in accordance with the toilet apartments, washrooms and similar places, foridrying the hands'and face, and intonsorial parlors, barber shops and other public places Where iapid andthorough `drying of the hair or face is desirable. i

Thel invention is embodied in a cabinet or stand and adapted for .useeitherY as a wall fixture or as an article of furniture to stand uponthe floor.

My invention `consists in certain novel features of construction andcombinations and arrangements of parts as will hereinafter be more fullyset forth, whereby a supply of air is heated within the cabinet orenclosure and blown therefrom through an outlet nozzle or nozzles. Meansare provided for simultaneously controlling the actuation of the fanblower or blast device and the discharge of the blast from the airchamber through the nozzle or nozzles. Other features of constructionwhich add to the convenience and economy inthe use of the apparatus willbe more specifically set forth hereinafter.

In the' accompanying drawings I have illustrated two adaptations of myinvention,

one as a wall fixture and the other as an article of furniture to standupon the floor, in which the parts are combined and arprinciples of myinvention. f

Figure l is a; view in elevation partly broken away for convenience ofillustration showing my invention embodied'in awall i fixture. .l

in longitudinal, vertical section showing the drier embodied in a floorcabinet or stand.

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view of the drier of Figure3.

Figure 5 is.- an enlarged detail sectional View showing a portion of thecabinet and a discharging valve and nozzle. l

Figure 6 is a detail sectional view showing valve and nozzleconstructions.

In Figures 1 and 2 the invention is embodied in a wall fixture that` iselevated a suitable distance above the floor and secured` to `the wallor other support in approved manner. In carryin out my invention Iutilize ya cabinetpreferably of rectangular shape and comprisinginsulated front and rear walls l and 2, a bottom 3, `top 4l and endwalls t fashioned of suitable material terior air chamber 5.

For the purpose of heating the air inthe air Vchamber I provide aheating element, in

to prevent transmission 'of heat .from the inthis instance shown assteam coils 6 having.

an inlet pipe 7 and outletrpipe 8 that coininunicate with a suitablesource of supply. The'coils are arranged in avertical plane within thechamber 5l and supported on brackets 9 in usual manner, to extend back`and forth longitudinally of the air chamber 5.

Within the chamber I provide a tortuouspassage for the air to be heatedas the air currents are directed along this passage in contact with theheated steam coils. The passage is formed by the kuse of spaced,horizontal, fiat plates or partitions 10, which at one: end terminate incurved plates orv bends ll and at the other end terminate short of oneof these bends to form a zig-zag passage from the top inlet duct l2. Atthe lower end of thistortuous passage an outlet duct l3opens into a hotair distributing cham,- ber 14 which is formed at the bottom of thecabinet below the lowermost partition l0.

For supplying the air to the heating chamber I employ a fan blower l5prefer* ably located on top of thecabinet and provided with a dischargepipe 16 that opens into the inlet duct 12 at the top of the coils andtortuous passage.

An electric motor 17 is employed in connection with the fan blower tosupply power at intervals and only when the control mechanism isoperated for that purpose.

In the front ofthe cabinet arearranged a suitable number of hot airnozzles 18 communicating with the distributing chamber and separatelyand independently operated and supplied withV an air blast from thedistributing chamber. In this form of the cabinet the nozzles arepreferably located near the bottom of the cabinet and they are supportedto have a swivel movement in order that they may be adjusted to directthe blast orV airin desired directions.

The nozzles and'their connections are substantially the samein bothembodiments of the invention illustrated in the drawings', exceptthat'in the wall Viiirture they are located at the bottom of the cabinetwhile in the floor cabinet they are located near the vtop portionthereof.

Each nozzle is provided with a supportingrcap 19 fastened tothe frontwall of the cabinet and the cap has a circular' central opening andretaining liange 20. A circular gasket 21 surrounds the nozzle withinthe cap and a spring 22 around the inner end of the :nozzle andinterposed between the gasket and front wall of the cabinet servestoinakeanvairtight joint and atth'e same time permits the nozzle `to beturned orv swiveled in Vits bearing or supporting cap. Within the frontwall of the cabinet is tixedia flaring sleeve 23 with an attachingflange 23 and the nozzle is axially alined with this sleeve( for thepassage of the air blast from the 'distributing chamber of the drier.The flanged sleeve formsa valve seat within the distributing chamber forthe valve 24, which is in the form of a flat circular disk, hinged at 25to the flanged sleeve and provided with a stop` lug to prevent eX-cessive movement on itshinge. A link 27 is pivoted at 28 to the valveand to ai bell crank'lever 29 which-'is pivoted at v3() `on a supportingbracket 31 within the distributing chamber. A liftV rod or otherflexible connection 32 is connected to the bell crank lever, and the rodpasses down through a tubular guidev or pipe 33, Aout through the bottomof the wall fixture 34 on the floor. y H

'Vithinthe housing 34 loca-ted on the floor as indicatedin Figures 1 and2 is pivoted a foot. pedal 35 to which' the push or lift rod 32 visconnected, andit will be apparent and to a housing that as the; pedal is--depressed the -rody through the bell crank lever and link will openthevalve, to permit a blastfof air to pass through a nozzle. jl/Vithin thehousing Levage@ is an electric switch or circuit maker 36 which isclosed by depressing` the pedal to energize or operate the motor for thefan blower, the wires of the motor circuit being indicated by thenumeral 37 in Figure 1.

Each of the nozzles is equipped with a valve, pedal mechanism andelectric switch in order that the nozzles may be used selectively orsimultaneously. The operation of the motor is controlled by any one ofthe levers or pedals, but the valvefor each nozzle is vcontrolled onlyby its own pedal.

' In the form of floorstand 'or cabinet 3S indicate-d in Figs. 3 and lthe structure is supported from the floor on feet or corner :posts 38and the steam coil Gis provided with inlet 7 and outlet 8 both passingout through the bottomof the cabinet.

Theheating chamber 39 of the cabinet is located below thev distributingchamber 39 which latter is located at the top of the cabinet and thehorizontal partitions t() and bends 11 which form the .tortuous passagefor air along the heating coils are. of con` struction and arrangementsimilar to that of Figs. 1 and2, but the inlet for air is located at v42at the lower end 4of the passage while the outlet to the distributingchamber is located at 413 near the top of the cabinet.

The nozzles 18 are located near the top of the cabinet for communicationwith the distributing chamber for hotair, and the motor i4 and fanblower 415 arelocated in the bottomportion ofthe cabinet. The dischargepipe 4:6 from the motor-operated fan blower directs air currents`upwardly through the tortuous passage where they are heated by thecoils. f j i v The va1ves24l of the nozzles are controlled by pedals 47pivote/d in brackets 18 beneath the cabinet and the push rods or links32 are operated from these pedals to open' the a It will'be understoodthat steam is con-ll stantlv passing through the coils for the purposeof heating them and Vmaintaining a,

long heat-radiating surface'within the cabinet. This heating elementwith its large or long radiating surface is designed to instantaneouslyheat the air currents as they pass through the tortuous passage, and ofcourse th-e hot air contained m the passage is first ejected therefromby the initial movement of the blower. Thus the blast.4 of hot or warmvair is ready for instant` use when eX pelled from the cabinet and theair currents following are heated as theyv pass through the tortuo'usair duct. One or more of the nozzles Amay be used at the same time, and

the 'nuinber of nozzl-es employed may be varied with the capacity of thedistributing chamber.

When not being used the valves are all normally closed to prevent egressof warm or hot air and they are opened only when a. blast is desired.

I-Iaving thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new anddesireI to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. In a drier the combinationwith a supporting cap having a retaining flange, a. nozzle supported insaid cap, and a iiXed sleeve 'forming an extension of the nozzle, of avalve hinged on said sleeve to normally close the inner end of `thesleeve, and means for opening the valve.

2. In a drier the combination with a fixed sleeve lia-ving a hingedvalve at one end and means for opening said valve, of an axially `alinedcap having a retaining flange and a nozzle swiveled in said cap, asupport for the sleeve, a gasket on the nozzle enclosed within the capand a spring located between said support and gasket.

3. In la drier the combination with la flaring sleeve lixed within itswall and a valve hinged at one end of said sleeve, of an axially alinedcap fixed to the wall and having a retaining flange, a nozzle swiveledin the cap, a gasket on the nozzle enclosed within the cap, a springsurrounding the nozzle and interposed between said wall and gasket, alink pivoted on the valve, a bell crank lever pivoted to the link, andlneans for actuating said lever. y

In testimony whereof I aliiX my signature.

JOHN H. WOODARD.

